Advanced Duel2 is a limited access game, i.e., one which is not
available to the general public. When you receive this packet you are one of a
small number of players who are eligible to participate. The game is available
only to those players who have champion level characters from the Duel2
game system. It is an advanced level game for characters (and players!) of
exceptional ability.

Next turn you will receive one replacement rollup sheet for each of your
characters who has been selected for Advanced Duel2. You will use these
rollups to replace the gaps in your original team created by those characters
leaving the team for Advanced Duel2. With these rollups provided, your
team should be back up to its full complement of five warriors. It is the
natural cycle of the game that as characters grow to exceptional ability, they
advance to new challenges and new opportunities while behind them a new
generation rises up in their footsteps. The characters of the new generation
will, in turn, seek to make their mark upon the world of Alastari as their
legendary forerunners have done.

I. Characters in Advanced Duel2 may increase their attributes (except
size) past the normal maximums of 21 to as high as 25 points for any given
attribute. Furthermore, due to the excellent facilities and conditioning
techniques available in Advanced Duel2, the first three increases in any
given attribute are made with no increase in difficulty. (It is as easy to learn
the third point as it is the first.) An example, Megatough Warrior started with
a 18 speed on his initial rollup. During Megatough's career as a gladiator in
the regular Duel2 games, he managed to increase his speed up to 20.
Knowing how difficult it would be, Megatough never attempted to train a third
point of speed. Once transferred to Advanced Duel2, Megatough can again
begin training his speed, up to a maximum of 25, and his first point trained in
Advanced Duel2, his third point overall, going from 20 to 21, will be at
the same chance of success as it was originally for him to go from 18 to 19.
Thereafter, his training attempts will become increasingly more difficult as in
Basic Duel2. The difference in ability for each point in an attribute
above 21 is very significant. Those attributes with values higher than 21 are
considered to be in the range of the "superhuman."

The same learning opportunity is mirrored in learning skills. Because of more
adequate training facilities and the overall level of competition, characters in
Advanced Duel2 receive significantly increased chances to learn skills.

II. The second important change which applies to Advanced Duel2 from
the very start regards weapons suitability. All characters in Advanced
Duel2 receive new in-depth character overviews which discuss aspects of
your character that were not as strongly emphasized in Basic Duelmasters. The
Advanced Duel2 character overview brings to light some of those tendencies
and natural inclinations which make each character unique. Working directly with
the unique aspects of your character becomes a strong focus in Advanced
Duel2. The Advanced Duel2 character overview, in addition to
covering those items on the regular Duel2 overview, also lists any
favoring tendencies which your character has displayed: favorite weapon,
favorite fighting range, etc.

As you know, in regular Duel2 a warrior must meet certain ability
criteria in order to effectively wield a particular weapon. In Advanced
Duelmasters a warrior is trained to be well suited to use his favorite weapon,
regardless of his abilities. For example, while it normally takes at least a 9
strength, 11 wit, and an 11 deftness to effectively wield a scimitar, Megatough
Warrior is well suited to use it even though his abilities are 17 strength, 9
wit, and 15 deftness. This is the case because he naturally favors the scimitar.

III. All warriors in Advanced Duel2 have been gifted with limited
immortality. They will never age while on the Isle, and if slain in combat they
will be resurrected on the following turn. Due to this immortality, there is no
need of a Dark Arena in Advanced Duel2, nor is there opportunity to
bloodfeud. Neither Dark Arena challenges nor bloodfeud challenges are allowed in
A.D.

IV. The Class Ranking system for Advanced Duel2, while similar in
structure to that used in Basic Duel2, differs in terms of the amount of
recognition points needed to be ranked in any given category. The ranking
categories and recognition point ranges for each category are as follows:

The Tower Guardian

211+

Grand Challenger Champions

211+

Grand Champions

181 - 210

Grand Challenger Adepts

151 - 180

Grand Adepts

101 - 150

Grand Challenger Initiates

91 - 100

Grand Initiates

0 - 90

Primus is slightly different from the rest of the Advanced Duel2
arenas. Warriors are ranked not according to their recognition points, but
according to their seat in the arena. The Primus ranks are as follows:

The Lady's Protector

1

The Lady's Challengers

2 - 11

Legion of the Wand

12 - 31

Defenders of the Tower

32 - 61

The Elite Guard

62 - 101

The Tower Guard

102 - 151

Primus Guardians

152 and up

In Primus, warriors may only challenge warriors in their own class or one
class higher. Obviously, the Lady's Protector is an exception; this warrior may
challenge only warriors ranked as one of The Lady's Challengers. In addition,
for the Primus arena only, when two warriors fight, the winner and the loser
switch seats.

V. At present, there are eight Advanced Duel2 arenas. The Talahya arena
(DM 100) is the original A.D. arena, and the Crysalis arena (DM 106) is the slow
turnaround A.D. arena. Warriors from all four regions can fight in arenas 100
and 106 (provided they are not Primus inductees). There are four regional
arenas, Free Blades (DM 103), Darkholm (DM 104), Andorak (DM 105), and Lirin Kiv
(DM 107). These four arenas only accept warriors hailing from cities in their
region. The Home Guard arena (DM 101) is meant for veteran warriors. Primus (DM
102) is where the best warriors compete. It is an honor for your warrior to be
qualified for Primus, but the very best warriors are inducted (i.e., if they
choose to fight, they may only fight in Primus).

VI. Approximately two turns after each Mail-in Grand Tournament, there occurs
the A.D. Split. Each manager of A.D. warriors will receive a sheet stating which
arenas their warriors are eligible to fight in. Non newly-invited warriors may
not transfer from arena to arena except at this time (when a warrior is newly
invited to A.D., his manager may transfer him directly to his regional arena (DM
103-105, 107) by submitting the A.D. Arena Selection Sheet for that warrior.)
Warriors may only transfer to arenas that they are qualified to transfer to
(i.e., a brand new warrior may not transfer to Primus or Home Guard, and a
warrior from a Delarquan Federation city may not transfer to Andorak).

These changes distinguish Advanced Duelmasters from the Basic Duel2
games. What really distinguishes A.D., however, is the level of competition
arising from the group of players and warriors participating. The warriors and
managers who are legendary throughout the land are all to be found in A.D.
Advanced Duel2 is quite simply a gathering of the best players and the
best characters. For this reason alone the Advanced Duel2 games are the
most exciting happenings in the world of Alastari.